Machine for facing flanges



1933- M. M. METCALF MACHINE FOR FACING FLANGES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed 001:. 27, 1931 M/7f0/7 MMefca/f' INVENTOR ATTORNEY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 M. METCALF MACHINE FOR FACING FLANGES N Nm MN nu AM Filed Oct. 27, 1931 Oct. 10, 1933.

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THU 5 mm HHU vN BY a ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 10, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlcr.

MACHINE FOR FACING FLANGES Milton M. Metcalf, Vallejo, Calif. Application October 27, 1931. Serial No. 571,444

. solaims. (01151-420) 7 Q v (Granted under the act of March a, 1883, as

amended April 30, 1928; 3700. G. 757) This invention relates to a machine for grinding a plane surface on flange faces;

It is the object of this invention to provide a machine that will grind a plane surface on a flange after apipe has been expanded in the flange, so that two such flanges may be fitted to each other and make a pressure-tight joint withouta gasket-between them. a In the drawingsr 1 M Fig.1 is a side elevational view of the machine;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a partial transverse sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view through the head of the machine on the line 44 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view on line 55 of Fig. 1. It is a preferred practice at the present time to omit gaskets from joints between coupling flanges for pipes in high pressure lines and to make a leak-proof fit by forming smooth, plane faces on the flanges. Prior to my invention, l this has been done byhand, which is a laborious and expensive process requiring a high degree of skill. My machine performs this operation more rapidly and cheaply than when done manually, and with a higher degree of accuracy. The machine is made portable so that in case a large number of flanges are to be fitted on one 'job, the grinder may be set up conveniently near the work, as on a ship, for example.

Frame 6 is mounted on base 7 and is cored at 5 8 to receive a sling for convenience in handling by means ofa hoist or crane.

Carriage 9 is slidably mounted on bed 10 in guides 11, as is common in lathes. The mechanism of the grinding head is carried in a housing having a lower section 12 on carriageQ and a removable upper section 13 secured to 12 by bolts 14. Grinding head 15 rotates in bearings 16 in the housing, a flange 17 being formed at each end of the head to overlap the end of the 5 housing to prevent access of dirt to the bearings. A pulley 18 on one end of'the head is driven by belt 19.

Head 15 is axially bored, and in that bore are bushings 20 in which a shaft 21 \is rotatable. A

pulley 22 is keyed to the projecting end of the shaft. In a recess 23 in the head a gear wheel 24 is keyed to shaft 21 to mesh with a like gear 25 on a shaft 26 mounted in bushings 27 and has a cup-shaped grinding wheel 28 on the end 7 thereof, which projects from the head at the end opposite that on which pulley 18 is located. 15:2 It will be seen that grinding wheel 28, being mounted on shaft 26 which is eccentric of head 15, will revolve'about the axis of the head as the latter rotates, and in addition'the grinding 5 wheel will rotate on shaft 26, driven by pulley :551 22 through gears 24 and 25. A thrust bearing at the end of shaft'26 opposite-grinding wheel 28 is formed by a disk 29 on this shaft coacting with collar 30 screwed into head 15, the said 55 collar being retained in position by lock nut 31. :5 An oil hole for supplying oil to gears 24 and 25 is-closed by plug 40.

A depending lug 32 on the lower side of carriage 9 has a threaded aperture therein engaged 7 by a screw 33 that is rotatable in anapertured 31 ear 34 on theframe of the machineand is restrained from longitudinal movement in the ear by a collar 35 fixed on the screw. A bevel gear 36 on screw 33 meshes with a bevel pinion 37 on shaft 38 to which is fixed themicrometer feed lever 39; Rotation of lever 39 moves carriage 9 forward or back and serves to feed the grinding wheel 28 against the flange to be ground.

On frame 6, adjacent grinding wheel 28, is a chucking device 41 provided with clamping jaws 42 to hold the flange 43 to be ground. As shown, the flange may be fixed on a pipe 44. A face plate or gauge 45 is pivotally mounted at 46 to be swung over in position to be abutted by the flange 43 to insure substantial parallelism of the face of the .1 flange with'the grinding face of wheel 28.

A pulley 47 is fixed on the shaft of motor 48 on base 7 and is connected to pulley 22 by belt 49. Clutch 50, operable by lever 51, connects shaft 52 to the shaft ofmotor 48. On shaft 52 are a pulley 53 and the impeller of oil pump '54. The pump is connected to the oil sump in the base of the machine by a pipe 55 and'discharges to grinding wheel 28 through pipe 56.

If it is desired to use this machine for ordi- I nary grinding, clutch 50 may be disengaged so that head 15 will not rotate and grinding wheel 28 then operates as any. common grinder. A guard 60 may be disposed over grinding wheel 28 10 to prevent accidental contact therewith.

Large pulley 5'7 and small pulley 58 are on the same shaft, the former being connected topulley 53 (which is small) by belt 59 and the latter pulley being connected to pulley 18 by belt 19. This arrangement imparts a high speed to grinding wheel 28 and a low speed to head 15, the former being preferably about 7,000 B. P. M. and the latter 25 R. P. M., which will result in thorough grinding of the face-of the flange as the grinding of the pump to open the impeller chamber to the air to prevent waste of power by the working against a partial vacuum.

The mode of operation is as follows: The flange to be ground is chucked with its center. aligned with the axis of head 15 and its face parallel with the grinding face of wheel;28. .wheel is fed against the flange, and due to the The grinding revolution of the wheel around the axis of head 15 the wheel will pass over the entire face of the flange in the course of one rotationof the head. The grinding is continued until the desired degree of finish has been produced on the face of the flange. a

It will be. understood that the above description and accompanying drawings comprehend only the general and preferred embodiment of my invention, and that various changes in construction, proportion and arrangement of parts may be made within the scope of the appended claims without sacrificing any of the advantages of my invention.

The invention described herein may be, manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes'without the payment of any royalties thereon I claim:

1. A grinding machine, comprising a frame, a bed on said frame, a carriage slidable on said bed, a housing on said carriage, said housing being longitudinally divided and having a removable portion, a head rotatably mounted in said housing (said head having an axially extending bore an eccentric longitudinally extending bore and a radially extending recess), a pulley on one end of said head, a shaft in said axial bore, a pulley on one end of said shaft, a gear keyed to said shaft and disposed in said recess, a second shaft in said eccentric bore, a second gear on said second shaft and disposed in saidrecess in mesh with the firstmentioned gear, a thrust bearing on one end of said second shaft, a cup-shaped grinding wheel on the other end of said second shaft, a work holding chuck adjacent said grinding wheel, power transmission means connected to the pulley on said axial shaft to impart a high speed of rotation to said grinding wheel, other transmission means connected to the pulley on said head to impart a low speed of rotation thereto, an oil pump op- .eratively connected to said power transmission and in which said head is rotatably mounted, a

rotatable shaft mounted axially of said head, a second rotatable shaft eccentrically mounted in said head, coacting gears on said shafts disposed in a recess in said head, a grinding wheel mounted on one end of said-second shaft, a pulley on the opposite end of said axially mounted shaft, a pulley on said head adjacentthe aforesaid pulley,

a work holding chuck disposed adjacent said gearson said shafts disposed in a recess in said -meshed with each other and enclosed in said said chuck.

3. A grinding machine, comprising a frame, a

bed thereon, a rotatable head mounted to be slidable on said carriage, a rotatable shaft mounted axially of said head, a second rotatable shaft eccentrically mounted in said head, coacting head, a grinding wheel mounted on one end of said eccentrically mounted shaft, a work holding chuck disposed adjacent said grinding wheel, a gauge plate mounted adjacent said chuck for paralleling work in said chuck with the face of said grinding wheel, means to impart a relatively high speed of rotation to said axially mounted shaft, means to impart a relatively slow speed of'rotation to said head, and positive means to feed said grinding wheel against the work in said chuck. p 7.

4. A grinding machine, comprising a bed, a carriage slidable thereon, a rotatably mounted member carried by said carriage, a rotatable shaft mounted in said member coaxially therewith, a gear on said shaft, a second shaft mounted in said member eccentrically thereof, asecond gear on said second shaft meshed withthe aforesaid gear, a grinding wheel on an end of said second shaft, work holding means disposed adjacent said grinding wheel, means to rotate said member, other means to rotate said axially mounted shaft, and means to slide said carriage to bring said grinding wheel positively against the Work. 5. A grinding machine, comprising a frame and a bed a rotatable grinding head slidably mounted on said bed, means to rotate said head, a shaft journaled in said head concentrically therewith, means to rotate said shaft, a second shaft journaled in said headeccentrically thereof, a gear on each shaft, said gears being meshed with each other and enclosed in said head, a grinding element mounted on said'second shaft, and positive means for holding said element against a piece of work.

6. A grinding machine, comprising a frame and a bed, a rotatable grinding head slidably mounted on said bed, means to rotate said head, a shaft journaled in'said head concentrically therewith, means to rotate said shaft at a different speed from that of said head, a second shaft journaled in said head eccentrically thereof, a gear on each shaft, said gears being meshed with each other and enclosed in said head, a grinding element mounted on said second shaft, and positive means for holding said element against a piece of work.

7. A grinding machine, comprising a frame and a bed, a rotatable grinding head slidably mounted on said bed, means to rotate said head,'a shaft journaled in said head concentrically therewith, means to rotate said shaft at arelatively high speed as compared to that ofsaid head, a second shaft journaled in said head eccentrically thereof, a gear on each shaft, said gears being head, a grinding element mounted on said second shaft, and positive means for holding said element against a piece of work.

8. A grinding machine, comprising a frame, a. bed on said frame, a carriage slidable on said bed, a grinding head, means on said carriage in which said head is rotatably mounted, a rotatable shaft mounted axially of said head, a second rotatable shaft eccentrically mounted in said head, coacting gears on said shafts disposed in a recess in said head, a grinding wheel mounted on one end of said second shaft, a pulley on the opposite end of said axially mounted shaft, a pulley 

